


Tommy Knows: "Home Invasion"

by ThomE_Gemcity_06



Series: Eloquence of a Secret [20]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon-divergence, Angst, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s1e20 - “Home Invasion", Family Drama, Friendship, Gen, Secrets, Tommy Knows!, break-up, relationship drama, team drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 14:04:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11358993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomE_Gemcity_06/pseuds/ThomE_Gemcity_06
Summary: Personal and professional cross streams and in the confusion, someone's bound to drown.





	Tommy Knows: "Home Invasion"

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, its episodes or its characters.  
> Tag: Season 1, Episode 20 - "Home Invasion"

**aRROW**

"Let me get this straight..." Tommy held up his hands. "Your ex-wife works for the same company that kidnapped Oliver and forced him into two-years of servitude—the same A.R.G.U.S. that basically turned him into a killing machine. That same A.R.G.U.S.?"

"Yes." Diggle intoned.

Tommy looked over at Oliver. "And we're not going to talk about it? Not even a little?"

"We talked about it a little right now." Oliver said. "I think that's enough."

"Sure, 'cause it's not something that should be addressed for sanity's sake." Tommy noted sarcastically.

"What are you even doing here, Merlyn?" Diggle questioned. "Don't you have a 'real job' now?"

"I'm taking an extended lunch break." Tommy replied tartly. "Oliver and I have a lunch-date—with Laurel. It's been in the works for a while now and he's not backing out of it." He gave said man a pointed look. "Actually," he held up a brief finger and looked to the other blond in the lair, "Felicity?"

"Yes?" she looked surprised to be drawn into the topic of conversation.

He smiled at her. "You should come. Save me the embarrassment of being the third-wheel. We could make it a double-date! What do you say?" Tommy held his breath, waiting for her answer. It was asked in a friendly and casual manner and he did feel friendly toward her, but he was hoping for something more than that; romantic. Maybe this was the first steps towards that. If Felicity could handle the drama that was Oliver and Laurel, she could handle damn well anything.

"It's not a date," Oliver grumbled.

Tommy completely ignore him, his focus on a much prettier blond.

"It's like getting invited to the cool-kids' table!" Felicity stammered a bit, her cheeks reddening under his intense blue-gaze, "It's just... I should be here if any more communications concerning Deadshot come through A.R.G.U.S." She finished in a small voice.

He hide his disappointment like a trooper. "I didn't think I was that bad of company," Tommy mumbled in a hurt tone.

Felicity look horrified at the accusation. "You're not! Oh, gosh. You're not. You're great, Tommy!"

Tommy gave her a mega-watt smile. "Then it's decided, a double-not-date!" he picked up her purse.

"What are you--?" she started when he took her hand, pulling her from the computer chair; she stumbled against him lightly. "Oh, hum... I can-- I can take my purse."

"I _can_ carry it; I'm very confident in my sexuality." He gave her a wink but handed the purse back. He looked back at Oliver, "That means I'll grab your hand, too, buddy."

"I think I can manage on my own," Oliver shook his head with a chuckle.

"You need help, Merlyn." Diggle shook his head. "While you guys are doing... that, I'm going to go see what I can get out of Lyla."

Tommy led the way out. He kept hold of her hand and it wasn't like she pulled it free.

**...**

When they got to CNRI, Laurel was in the company of her father, a couple uniformed officers, and a recent orphan as of that morning.

"Laurel, hey." Tommy called. "We heard what happened on the radio over."

"Hey. Felicity, I didn't know you were coming, too." Laurel gave them a sad smile as she approached the group. "Sorry I didn't call--"

Oliver shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He promised. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Ms. Lance," the social worker interrupted, her hand on Taylor Moore's shoulder. "If you want to say goodbye to Taylor I'll be taking him to Child Services."

"He doesn't have any family?" Laurel questioned, hugging the boy.

"Grandparents in Melbourne. We tracking them down. Until then he’s gonna be a temporary ward of the state."

"He can stay with me." Laurel decided, pulling the boy with her. "As his attorney I am assigning myself temporary guardianship."

"You'll need a court order."

"I'll have it to you within the hour," she said confidently.

"You always have to stick yourself in the middle of it, don't you?" Lance joined his daughter.

"I'm not just going to let some stranger take him. He's still my client." Laurel defended.

"Alright." Lance sighed, rubbing a hand over his hair. "I'm posting units at your apartment--"

"You can stay at my place." Oliver blurted.

"Excuse me?" Lance demanded.

"The Queens have more security than the president." Tommy explained, taking a step forward. "They've got cameras everywhere, bodyguards in every wing and no one goes in or out without being accounted for."

"No." Lance shook his head. "My men know how to do their jobs and if this bastard tries again, they're going to take care of it."

"Dad, they're right." Laurel said. "You don't have to like it, but I think it will be the safest thing for Taylor until I can put Edward Rasmus away."

"Okay, baby."

Laurel looked to Oliver. "Thank you. Are you sure it's okay?"

"Of course," Oliver promised. He put his hand on her arm, "Tommy will take you to your apartment to get your things and take you to the mansion. I need to drop Felicity back and make some calls."

Laurel nodded. "It's settled then. Come on, Taylor." She lead him away.

"Sorry about lunch," Tommy told Felicity before they parted. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Tommy, that--" she started to decline, then said in a breath. "Would be great."

**X**

"Oliver, what they hell are you still doing here?" Tommy hissed in a hushed tone as soon as they were left alone, Moira and Laurel finally heading off. "You stopped Rasmus before he could leave, there's still time to make the Deadshot meeting."

But Oliver shook his head. "Rasmus might be in custody, but his assassin is still out there. I need to be here. Even with his boss out of commission, our Mr. Blank still might want to burn off the loose ends."

"That's what Mr. Robbins and the other dozen trained security guards stationed around the house are for!" Tommy exclaimed, his arm flying out. "Diggle hand-picked them himself so you know they're good for it. And if the military-trained bodyguards aren't enough, I'm the second line of defence." 

"I can't." Oliver persisted. "This is were I need to be."

"Where you need to be is decidedly not here." Tommy countered. "It's where Diggle thinks you are and that definitely isn't here in the family room at your mansion, it's the plaza where Lyla is getting a meet with another assassin. And it's where you need to be right now to take out Deadshot for good this time, and let Diggle finally put his brother to rest." 

Oliver just shook his head and walked out of the room, heading upstairs and towards Laurel. "Diggle will understand,"

"Goddamnit, Oliver!" Tommy cursed. He pulled out his cell and speed-dialled Diggle as he headed out the door. He cussed when it went to voicemail. He tried another number. "Felicity! I can't get a hold of Diggle, you gotta--"

" _It's too late, Tommy."_ Felicity said quietly.

**...**

"Shit!" Tommy said as soon as entered the lair and saw Felicity trying to triage Diggle's head wound. "What the hell happened? Here," he dipped into the first aid kit and took over for Felicity.

"Oliver didn't show up, that's what." Diggle growled, his eye scrunching as Tommy swabbed the cut above his brow with disinfectant.

"To be fare, the assassin did take one last hurray after Taylor," Tommy said. "He killed several of the security men, but he didn't make it passed Oliver." Diggle sent him a stink-eye. "I'm not defending him, I'm just telling you, you know how he gets when Laurel's involved. If she's in any kind of trouble, that's all he sees; everything else turns to white noise." He closed the wound with a few steri-strips.

"He couldn't have left the assassin to you?" Diggle said.

Tommy blinked at him. "I didn't think that was a sentence I'd ever hear." He started to pack up the kit. "I suppose you mean that in the sense that Mr. Blank was a 'low-rate' assassin, and Deadshot's a 'high-class' assassin—I'm getting better, but I don't think I could take on an assassin of any kind just yet."

"You took care of Helena just fine and she knew how to fight." Diggle remarked.

Tommy stilled for a second at the reminder. "That's different," he replied in a monotone, "I took her by surprise, I shot her in the back. She had no idea I was there, she never even knew it was the 'pet' that killed her."

Felicity sent Diggle an angry look. "Tommy, man--" Diggle started to rise.

"No, no." Tommy turned back to him, normal inflections back in his tone. "You get to be angry, Diggle. Hell, I'm pissed at Oliver on your behalf."

"Maybe he should start training you with the bow—then we wouldn't have to worry about it. He could be in two places at once."

"That--"

"Starling City doesn't need two Hoods." Oliver entered. He looked to Diggle, "Hey, I wanted to explain." Oliver started. "I had to reprioritize, I had no choice--"

"If it was just the two of us, maybe, _maybe_ then I might understand. But you're not alone, Oliver, it's not just us. If you were so worried about Laurel, you could have left Tommy at mansion while you were at the Plaza, but you didn't." Diggle's arms crossed. "You said Starling doesn't need two Hoods, then you follow it up with a scenario that could have done with two Hoods and we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Dig--"

"Yeah, that choice of yours got four agents killed." He stood. "Deadshot would have killed Lyla if I hadn't got to her in time. He had me, right in front of him, literally on my knees, at his mercy, just like my brother. The only thing that saved me was some messed up code that he wasn't getting paid for the hit."

"Taylor was relying on me."

Diggle shook his head. "This was never about that kid, this was about Laurel. Tommy was right when he said if it's anything concerning her everything else is just white noise to you." He put a finger to the blond's chest. "But we're not white noise, Oliver! Deadshot is not white noise. You could have put an end to that maniac like you promised me, now he's in the wind and there might not be a second chance." He dropped his arm.

"John," Felicity started.

"You made your choice. Fine. But now so have I." And Diggle walked out. "Don't expect to see me again."

"I didn't mean _that_ angry!" Tommy shouted helplessly after him. He look over at Oliver, "Go after him!"

"The only way to stop him would have been to put an arrow in him." Oliver was tight-jawed, and angered-stiff. "He made his choice."

"Everything he said was right," Tommy argued. "And you're just going to dismiss him?"

Oliver ignored him. "Anything you want to add?" he looked to Felicity beside his best-friend.

She rose her chin and glared back. "Nothing you want to hear."

"Good," Oliver turn his back. "Because this topic is finished."

_f_

**aRROW**

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea of Tommy taking out Mr. Blank in the first round at Laurel's apartment and that translating into Oliver making that meeting with Deadshot and Diggle never leaving Team Hood temporarily—but where's the drangst (drama/angst) in that? ;)
> 
>  
> 
> **DELETED TEXT: **  
> ****  
> LAUREL: "The Hood just saved our lives. We can trust him. He won't let anything happen to me. And he has a thing for Tommy, too. "  
> ...  
>  "I'm brining Laurel over," Tommy declared without preamble into the phone.  
> "I'm sorry, what?" Oliver questioned, distracted.  
> "Laurel and the kid need a safe-haven, and that's the mansion, meaning you a.k.a The Hood. I know you're busy with Diggle's Deadshot situation so I was just giving you a heads-up."  
> ...  
> "So that meeting's tonight," Tommy opened, finding Oliver alone in the study.  
> Oliver looked over from window seat, rain tapping the glass panes.  
> x


End file.
